Transport packing for fragile goods

ABSTRACT

A transport packing for fragile goods, particularly for supply containers for microscopic slides, comprises a columnar packing chamber formed by inner packing walls ( 10 ). The goods to be transported are accommodated in the packing chamber. Buffer spaces ( 12,13 ) formed by outer packing walls ( 14,16,18  and  20,22,24 , respectively) are arranged adjacent the inner packing walls ( 10 ). The buffer spaces ( 12,13 ) prevent damage of the goods during transport.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a transport packing for fragile goods. The transport packing of the invention is particularly suited for microscopic slides, especially for nanotitration plates and microtitration plates.

[0002] Microscopic slides are stored in columnar shelves and kept available therein between production stages. Microscopic slides are extremely sensible goods easily susceptible to breakage or damage. Thus, transport of supply containers containing such slides is difficult. Due to the risk of breakage of microscopic slides, the supply container for the slides has to be sufficiently cushioned for transport within a transport packing.

[0003] To obtain the above cushioning effect for transport of such fragile goods, it is known to accommodate the goods in a transport container having considerably larger dimensions than the goods to be transported, and to fill the intervening space with buffer material such as foamed plastic and the like. This type of packing is undesirably complex and time-consuming. Further, disposal of the packing material is inconvenient.

[0004] Further, for transport of supply containers for microscopic slides, it has to be considered that these containers have merely a small support or base face in relation to their height. Thus, the packing must be of a design safely preventing the packing from tilting over during transport. Such an incident would cause destruction of the microscopic slides.

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport packing for fragile goods wherein the fragile goods are protected in a simple manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] For achieving the above object, the transport packing of the present invention comprises a columnar packing chamber formed by inner packing walls. The packing chamber is provided to accommodate the fragile goods for transport. To protect the fragile goods from damage, the inventive transport packing comprises buffer spaces formed by outer packing walls. The buffer chambers are arranged adjacent to the inner packing walls. Thus, the packing chamber is substantially surrounded by buffer spaces. The buffer spaces are effective to absorb thrusts or other forces acting on the transport packings. Therefore, the buffer spaces act as a kind of crush section.

[0007] The buffer spaces are at least partially physically decoupled from the packing chamber so that a deformation of the buffer chambers will have no or merely slight effects on the packing chamber. Deformation of the buffer chambers will therefore not immediately cause a deformation of the packing chamber. This offers a good protection of the fragile goods arranged in the packing chamber. Further, this arrangement obviates the need to fill the buffer spaces with buffer material such as foamed plastic, films with air cushions, or filler material and the like. However, should an additional buffering effect be desired, such filling of the buffer spaces is still possible.

[0008] Preferably, the buffer spaces extend along the complete height of the packing chamber, thus enlarging the support face of the transport package and improving the stability of the vertical orientation of the packing. The obtained enlargement of the support face prevents the transport packing from tilting over during transport so that the transport packing is rendered particularly useful for goods, e.g. liquids and powder, which must be transported with vertical orientation of their containers.

[0009] Preferably, an inner packing wall and two outer packing walls arranged adjacent to this inner packing wall and belonging to two mutually opposite buffer spaces are formed from one common cardboard component. By this provision, forces acting on one buffer space are transmitted to the opposite buffer space as well, with resultant improved safety of the fragile goods in the packing chamber.

[0010] For producing the transport packing, use can be made e.g. of four cardboard components with longitudinal slots. Two cardboard components will be fitted to each other to form, within the thus folded cardboard component, an elongate hollow space with open ends. Subsequently, two cardboard components of the above configuration are e.g. rotated relatively to each other by 90° and are in the longitudinal direction shifted into each other through longitudinal slots to thus form a cross-shaped configuration. In this manner, an inner chamber is formed, surrounded by four outer chambers. The inner chamber serves as a packing chamber for arranging the fragile goods therein, and the four outer chambers act as buffer spaces. Subsequent to the above process, the packing chamber is closed e.g. in that flaps are folded into a closed position. The above packing is of a very straightforward type adapted to be produced from four identical cardboard components.

[0011] In the context of the present invention, the term “carton components” is meant to denote not only parts of the transport packing made from cardboard and similar materials but also similar parts made from plastic or compound material.

[0012] The transport packing can also be produced from more than four cardboard components. For instance, six or eight carton components can be assembled so that the transport packing will have a star-shaped cross section. In such a case, the packing chamber is hexagonal or octagonal.

[0013] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the transport packing is produced from at least two tubular packing components formed by respectively one folding carton. The packing component preferably has a rectangular cross section. The folding carton is folded along folding lines extending in the longitudinal direction, thus generating tubular packing components. The packing components have longitudinal slots formed therein for mutual engagement of two or more packing components. When using two packing components, the completed transport packing will have a cross-shaped cross section, while an assembly of a larger number of packing components will result in a transport packing of a star-shaped cross section. The production of a transport packing from packing components formed respectively of a sole folding carton is extremely simple. It is merely required to fold the folding carton into a tubular packing component and to fit together two or more of such packing components in the longitudinal direction. After assembly of the packing components, the inner space forms a packing chamber adapted to accommodate the fragile goods.

[0014] Preferably, the inner packing walls are provided with flaps to be folded inwards for forming a bottom, and the mutually opposite transverse edges of the inner packing walls are provided with flaps to be folded inwards for forming a lid. Thus, it is not required to provide a separate bottom or lid. The bottom and the lid can be simply produced by inward folding of suitably shaped flaps.

[0015] The folding cartons from which the tubular packing components are formed can be of a mutually identical design. Thus, the transport packing of the invention can be produced using folding cartons of only one type. Since folding cartons of merely one type have to be produced, manufacture of the transport packing is economically advantageous. Further, during assembly of the packing components made from such folding cartons, no care need be taken to avoid mixing up the packing components because these are identical. Besides, the production of the transport packing from folding cartons offers the advantage that such folding cartons can be stored in their flattened configuration and thus require little place for storage.

[0016] The folding cartons are preferably made from corrugated board. To improve the stiffness of the transport packing, the corrugations of this corrugated board are preferably oriented transverse to the longitudinal direction of the transport packing.

[0017] The tubular packing components are preferably assembled from a substantially rectangular folding carton provided with a plurality of folding edges extending in the longitudinal direction, and with longitudinal slots. The longitudinal slots are provided to the effect that at least two packing components folded from the folding cartons can be assembled in the longitudinal direction of the components. The longitudinal slots can have fold-in flaps arranged therebetween. The width of the fold-in flaps preferably corresponds to the distance between the longitudinal slots, thus lending improved stiffness to the bottom and the lid.

[0018] A preferred embodiment of the invention will be explained in greater detail hereunder with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019]FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the transport packing;

[0020]FIG. 2 is a plan view of a contoured blank of the folding carton; and

[0021] FIGS. 3 to 6 are views illustrative of the successive steps of the production of the transport packing from the folding carton shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0022] In its assembled condition, the transport packing comprises four inner packing walls 10 forming a columnar packing chamber. The packing chamber is located internally of the inner packing walls 10 which are arranged at right angles relative to each other. In the illustrated embodiment, the packing chamber is provided as a hollow space shaped as a parallelepiped with substantially square cross section. Adjacent to the inner packing walls 10, buffer spaces 12,13 are arranged. The buffer spaces 12 are formed respectively by three outer packing walls 14,16, 18 [vgl. FIG. 1] and one inner packing wall 10. The outer packing walls 14 and 16 as well as 16 and 18 are arranged at a right angle relative to each other. The outer packing walls 14 and 18 are arranged at a right angle to the adjacent inner packing wall 10. The buffer spaces 13 opposite buffer spaces 12 are identical in cross section to buffer spaces 12. In a similar configuration that that of the buffer spaces 12, the buffer spaces 13 are formed by outer packing walls 20,22,24 and an inner packing wall 10.

[0023] The outer packing walls 14 to 24 extend along the complete height of the transport packing. Thus, also the buffer spaces 12,13 extend along the complete height of the transport packing. Since the width of the outer packing walls 16,22 corresponds to the width of the inner packing walls 10, the buffer spaces 12,13 extend also along the whole width of the inner packing walls 10.

[0024] The transport packing is produced of two identical folding cartons 26 (FIG. 2). Tom make it possible that two tubular packing components 28,30 (FIG. 3) formed by respectively one folding carton 26 are assembled into a transport packing, each folding carton 26 is provided with longitudinal slots 32. The longitudinal slots 32 extend along half the width of the folding carton 26. In the folded condition, the portions of folding carton 26 arranged between the longitudinal slots 32 and the extension of the longitudinal slots 32, indicated by a dotted line, combine to form the inner packing walls 10.

[0025] Arranged in parallel to the longitudinal slots 32, a plurality of folding edges 34 extend likewise in the longitudinal direction of folding carton 26. The portions of folding carton 26 arranged between these folding edges 34 are provided to form the outer packing walls 16,22 which in the completed condition of the transport packing are placed opposite each other and extend in parallel to the inner packing walls 10 of the respective other packing component 28 and 30, respectively. The portions of folding carton 26 located between the longitudinal slots 32 and the folding edges 34 are designed to form the outer packing walls 18,24,20. The corresponding outer packing wall 14 is formed by that portion of folding carton 26 which is arranged between the lower longitudinal slot 32 as seen in FIG. 2 and an outer edge 36 of folding carton 26. In the final folded condition, the outer packing walls 18,24 and the inner packing wall 10 located therebetween are arranged in the same plane. In this folded condition, also the outer packing walls 14,20 and the inner packing wall 10 located therebetween are arranged in the same plane.

[0026] For producing the identical packing components 28,30 (FIG. 3), the folding carton 26 will be bent to form a right angle along each folding edge 34. Subsequently, flaps 38 provided on the outer edge will also be bent by 90° and inserted into slots 40. In the folded condition, the portion 42 of folding carton 26 arranged between the upper folding edge 34 in FIG. 2 and the upper outer edge 44 will be in abutment on the inner face of outer packing wall 14.

[0027] Thereafter, the two packing components 28,30 are rotated by 90° relative to each other (FIG. 4) and oriented in such a manner that the longitudinal slots 32 of the two packing components 28,30 are facing each other. Then, the two packing components 28,30 are assembled with each other in the longitudinal direction so that the longitudinal slots 32 of one packing component 28 will be arranged on the dotted line (FIG. 2) of the other component 30.

[0028] After assembly of the two packing components 28,30, the packing is of the configuration illustrated in FIG. 5, presenting already the columnar packing chamber and the buffer spaces 12,13. In this condition, only the lid and the bottom of the transport packing are still to be formed.

[0029] First, to form the bottom, a square flap 48 provided on a lateral edge 46 (FIG. 2) of the packing component 28 is folded inwards about this lateral edge 46.

[0030] The shape of flap 48 corresponds to the cross section of the packing chamber.

[0031] Subsequently, the flaps 50 connected to the other packing component 30 along lateral edges 52 will be folded by 90° inwards about these lateral edges 52. The flaps 50 comprise a further folding edge 54 extending in parallel to lateral edge 52. The distance between the edges 52,54 corresponds to half the width of flap 48 and thus to half the width of the square packing chamber. The lateral edges 54 are respectively joined by a flap 56. The flaps 50 will be folded by 90° inwards along lateral edge 52, and the grip flaps 56 in turn will be bent by 90° about bending edge 54, thus extending towards the outside. Thus, an intermediate portion 58 located between the two edges 52,54 is in its inward-folded condition arranged in parallel to the inward-folded flap 48. The two grip flaps 56 are arranged at right angles to flap 48 and project to the outside. In this condition, the two grip flaps 56 are parallel to each other.

[0032] As a next step, the flap 60 is folded inwards, again by 90°, about the transverse edge 62 while the grip flaps 56 are inserted through a slot 64. Flap 60 is of a square basic cross section corresponding to that of flap 48 and thus to the cross section of the packing chamber. The outer edges of flap 60 are provided with additional insert flaps 66,68. The insert flaps 66 are inserted into slots 70 extending in parallel to the transverse edges 52. Insert flap 68 is inserted into a slot 72 provided in flap 48 and extending in parallel to edge 46.

[0033] Subsequently, the two grip flaps 56 are folded outwards by 90° from their position vertical to flap 48 so that also the flaps 56 will reach a position parallel to flap 48 while abutting the outer side of flap 60. Thus, the bottom of the transport packing is completed.

[0034] Now, the transport packing can be brought into the vertical position according to FIG. 6, and the goods to be packed, e.g. a supply container for microscopic slides 74, can be introduced into the packing chamber.

[0035] Finally, the lid of the packing chamber is formed. Since the transport packing is made from two identical packing components 28,30, the lid is generated in the same manner as described above for the bottom, except that, in a last step, the grip flaps 56 are not folded towards the outside to assume a flat position but will be left in their vertical position and serve as a grip portion of the transport packing. By means of this grip portion, the transport packing is conveniently portable while being automatically held in a vertical orientation. 

1. A transport packing for fragile goods, particularly for supply containers for microscopic slides and especially nanotitration plates and microtitration plates, comprising a columnar packing chamber, formed by inner packing walls (10), for accommodation of the goods (74), and buffer spaces (12,13) arranged adjacent to the inner packing walls (10) and formed by outer packing walls (14,16,18;20,22,24).
 2. The transport packing according to claim 1 wherein an inner packing wall (10) and two outer packing walls (18,24;14,20) adjacent to the inner packing walls (10), of two mutually opposite buffer spaces (12,13) are formed from a common cardboard component.
 3. The transport packing according to claim 2 wherein said transport packing comprises four cardboard components, having longitudinal slots (32) provided therein, which are assembled to each other in the longitudinal direction for forming the packing chamber and the buffer spaces (12,13).
 4. The transport packing according to claim 1 wherein at least two tubular packing components (28,30) formed from respectively one folding carton (26) are assembled to each other by means of longitudinal slots (32).
 5. The transport packing according to claim 4 , wherein two packing components (28,30) are arranged at an angle of 90° relative to each other.
 6. The transport packing according to claim 4 , wherein the packing components (28,30) are identical to each other.
 7. The transport packing according to claim 1 wherein the buffer spaces (12,13) extend along substantially the complete height and/or width of the inner packing walls (10).
 8. The transport packing according to claim 1 wherein transverse edges (46,52,62) of the inner packing walls (10) are provided with flaps (48,50, 60) to be folded inwards for forming a bottom and a lid, respectively.
 9. The transport packing according to claim 8 wherein two mutually opposite lid flaps (50) comprise, when folded inwards, a grip portion (56) arranged substantially at a right angle to the lid.
 10. The transport packing according to claim 8 wherein at least one of the flaps (60) has insert flaps (66,68) connected thereto which, for stabilizing the packing, are adapted to be inserted into slots (70,72) provided in the cardboard component (26).
 11. A folding carton for a transport packing according to claim 4 for forming a tubular packing component (28,30) from a substantially rectangular folding carton (26) provided with a plurality of folding edges (34) extending in the longitudinal direction and with longitudinal slots (32) for mutual assembly of at least two packing components (28,30) in the longitudinal direction.
 12. The folding carton according to claim 11 wherein the flaps (48,50, 60) to be folded inwards are arranged between the longitudinal slots (32) and the width of the flaps (48,50,60) corresponds to the distance between the longitudinal slots (32). 